When humanity stopped throwing shit at each other, they started telling stories. Stories to help them understand the world and each other. Some language theory suggests words creates thoughts; and so stories created philosophy, all the sciences and the arts. Stories are what make us civilized; what sets us apart from animals.
And stories begin in us as fairy tales. Through them, humans grow up, then turn around and look back at where they came from. Exploring them reveals what narratives we give ourselves in our lives and gives us courage to point them out and be free of them. The fairy tale is a microcosm of the whole world and a beautiful art form.
A nod to Angela Carter – the creator of interesting fairy tales that made us think, and made me think: I want to do that. And these are my fairy tales.
And Hans Christian Anderson is an utter bastard.